HOUSE IN SESSION: The House is in session Thursday from 12:30 until it completes its calendar for the day. The Special Order Calendar for Thursday, March 21 includes the following higher ed bills:
- HB 209 — Lake-Sumter Community College name change bill
State University System
HAZING: FAU Fraternity Expels Members After Attack
Boca News Now
BocaNewsNow.com was first to tell you that the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the alleged assault of a young man by brothers of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. The incident happened at the Oasis night club, which is off campus. The victim claimed that several active members of the fraternity punched him repeatedly after he told the fraternity’s president that he was no longer interesting in pledging the group…
Student Curators Bring Miami Art To Florida International University
WLRN
The exhibition isn’t just an art show; it’s a class with the honors college of Florida International University. For the eighth consecutive year, non-art-major students worked together to curate an art exhibition…
Florida Hospital donates $2M to FSU College of Medicine in Orlando
Orlando Business Journal
Florida Hospital gave $2 million to the Florida State University College of Medicine’s Orlando campus March 20.
FSU 2013 Kick Butts Day
WTXL
Breathe Easy through the Florida State University’s Health Promotion Office and the Healthy Campus 2020 Student Task Force will be hosting Kick Butts Day FSU 2013 on Thursday, March 21. Organizers say its part of the nationwide Kick Butts Day…
University of Florida Joins Harvard, Other Ivys in Massive Open Online Courses Market
Sunshine State News
…Now, the University of Florida, the first university to offer the free courses in the state, has expanding its menu. After new classes added this week, UF is offering four classes, which have already enrolled nearly 100,000 people around the globe and growing. There is no university admission or tuition requirement for the courses, but students do not receive credit for them…
Univ. of Florida could join Florida State University in requiring proof of health insurance
The Republic
The University of Florida may start requiring new students to show proof of health insurance. UF’s trustees are scheduled to discuss a proposal on Thursday to require the freshmen class of 2014 to have insurance in order to enroll.
USF stresses planning, treatment in the wake of UCF shooting scare
Tampa Bay Business Journal (blog)
USF authorities said students would be alerted of an emergency through text messages, email and on-campus message boards, the Tampa Tribune said. USF also has a Students of Concern Assistance Team that can treat troubled students…
State College System
Broward College among top 10 community colleges in US
MiamiHerald.com
Broward College is among the 10 best community colleges in the nation, representatives for the Aspen Institute said Tuesday.
Florida’s Broward, Santa Fe Among Nation’s Top 10 Community Colleges
Sunshine State News
The Aspen Institute announced Tuesday the two winners of its prestigious $1 million Prize for Community College Excellence, and the Sunshine State boasts two of its own – Broward College and Santa Fe College – among the top 10 finalists.
PHCC soliciting public’s help with name change
Northwest News and Tribune
Pasco-Hernando Community College could get a new name and wants the public’s help choosing it. The college is hoping to offer two new bachelor’s degree programs in August 2014, pending state approval and accreditation.
Independent Colleges and Universities
Dance Alive National Ballet March 24 in Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College
St. Augustine Record
Dance Alive National Ballet will present “Phantom” at 2 p.m. March in Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College, 14 Granada St., downtown St. Augustine.
Yip Yap: Noted and Quoted FLHE Voices from Around the Web
Benny Goodman Show May 14 in Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College
St. Augustine Record
Virtuoso clarinetist Dave Bennett, 28, will bring his swinging Benny Goodman show May 14 to the Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College, 14 Granada St., St. Augustine. A self-taught prodigy, Bennett picked up the instrument at age 10.
Cinderella Diary: Behind the Scenes with Florida Gulf Coast coach Andy Enfield
Bleacher Report
Andy Enfield is the head coach of Florida Gulf Coast University. In just its second year as a Division I program, Florida Gulf Coast earned its inaugural NCAA tournament berth by winning the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.
March Madness: Wife of Florida Gulf Coast University Coach Is a Supermodel - Check Out Her Maxim Cover
E! Online
Forget earning the No. 15 seed in the south region, the real prize is going home to this. Florida Gulf Coast University‘s relatively new basketball coach Andy Enfield—who led the team to their first NCAA tournament bid in the school’s history—apparently also has a smokin’ hot wife. You might have seen her on the cover of Maxim. Oklahoma-native Amanda Marcum Enfield was the mag’s February 2003 covergirl, and the supermodel has also appeared in Elle andVogue, and has been seen in ads for Victoria’s Secret and Armani…
Honoring the innovators in STEM
Jacksonville Daily Record
The Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women honored its 2013 class Tuesday, honoring four innovators as part of its “Women Inspiring through Imagination: Celebrating Women In Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM)” theme…Paula Risko, mathematics; a professor of mathematics at Florida State College at Jacksonville…
Entrepreneurs win 2013 Women in Business Awards
Jacksonville Daily Record
Women Business Owners of North Florida and the Professional Women’s Council of the JAX Chamber presented the 27th annual Women in Business Awards on Tuesday to (from left) Dana Stallings, Kilwins Jacksonville, recognized as the established entrepreneur; LaDonna Morris, Roseanne R. Hartwell Women’s Center at Florida State College at Jacksonville…
Democrats leading Scott in early polling
Tbo.com
“I would certainly disagree with any Democrats who think they’re going to have a cakewalk back into the governor’s mansion,” said New College of Florida political scientist Frank Alcock. He called the results a “pre-message result,” done before any candidate starts really communicating with voters, and he noted that Scott still has a huge amount of time — and money — for a campaign to redefine himself and an opponent in voters’ minds.
‘Hats Off to Women’ honors nine at UF
Gainesville Sun
…Awards were given to Sharon Austin, Angeleah Browdy, Patricia Hilliard-Nunn, LaToya Hunter, the late Ruby Mae Moore, Breanne Palmer, Brandi Pritchett-Johnson, Monya Sharp and Tarena Stanley. Recipients were recognized for giving back to the community with their time and talent. The criteria called for women who are role models and advocate for positive social change, those who are dedicated to helping and supporting women achieve their goals and those who exhibit leadership and integrity…
Obama Picks Gators To Go to NCAA Final Four
Sunshine State News (blog)
While the president may be misguided on what states will land a team in the NCAA men’s basketball national championship game, President Barack Obama seems to have his head on straight with some choices, picking a team from the Sunshine State to go to the Final Four. Obama, an avid basketball fan, selected his annual March Madness bracket picks and pushed the University of Florida up to the Final Four. The Gators are one of three Florida teams — along with University of Miami and Florida Gulf Coast University — to make it into the TV-ratings-giant tournament.
Fired head of Miami Beach public health center to plead guilty to $6 million theft
MiamiHerald.com
Kathryn Abbate, who was paid more than $1 million as the head of the Miami Beach Community Health Center, told a federal judge Wednesday that she pleaded guilty to take “personal responsibility” for stealing $6 million from the federally funded facility for the poor and uninsured…The Miami-Dade state attorney’s office charges — one count of organized scheme to defraud and one count of first-degree grand theft — focused on Abbate’s cover-up of the $1 million involving the five doctors. The funds were supposed to be payments to the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, but UM never received the money…
Releases and Web Stories
Flagler College Enactus wins at US regional competition
ReadMedia (press release)
ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (03/20/2013)(readMedia)– Flagler College’s Enactus team was named a Regional Champion at the Enactus United States Regional Competition held on March 20 in Charlotte, N.C. The event is one of 10 Regional Competitions being …
StetsonU Digital Arts Exhibition opens March 25
Stetson University Today
Stetson University will be holding its end of the year Digital Arts Senior Project Exhibition in the Hand Art Center from March 25 to April 5. The public is invited to the opening reception on Monday, March 25, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Hand Art Center, located at 139 E. Michigan Ave., on Stetson University’s DeLand campus.
UF Law experts available to speak on U.S. Supreme Court cases on gay marriage
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments for two cases on gay marriage next Tuesday and Wednesday. One challenges California’s Proposition 8, which states that only marriages between a man and a woman are recognized in the state. The other looks at the national Defense of Marriage Act, which also bans gay marriage.
University of Florida launches state’s first MOOCs — courses free to anyone who can log on
University of Florida
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida is the state’s first university to offer massive open online courses, or MOOCs. That means anyone in the world can now get a taste of a UF education — for free. Early indications are that there’s quite an appetite. There are 16,000 students in the Economic Issues, Food & You course that began Monday. There are more than 13,000 students enrolled in UF’s Sustainable Agricultural Land Management course, and the Global Sustainable Energy: Past, Present and Future course, which will launch Sunday, has more than 18,000 students already enrolled…
University of South Florida researchers play key role in discovery of new drug …
EurekAlert (press release)
Tampa, FL (March 20, 2013) – University of South Florida researchers played a key role in an international multidisciplinary project that has yielded a promising new antimalarial drug with the potential to cure the mosquito-borne disease and block its transmission with low doses…
Valencia College Utilizes Sophisticated Simbonix Simulators in Their Cardiovascular Technology (CVT) Training Program
SYS-CON Media (press release)
Simbionix provides Cardiovascular Technology (CVT) programs with training simulators that deliver a virtual reality experience for their students. Valencia College in Orlando, FL, utilizes this technology in their Allied Health Department’s CVT program…
